Easy Cupcakes

There are probably as many ways to make butterfly cupcakes as there are species of butterflies. This version uses mini sugar-coated fruit slices for the wings and chocolate chips for the body. Add some round sprinkles and gel and you’re off and flying!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; 2 mini sugar-coated fruit slices; 4 chocolate chips; black gel writing icing in tube; round pastel sprinkles.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Place chocolate chips in line going from one edge of cupcake toward the center for butterfly body. Add 2 fruit slices, with round edges facing, on opposite sides of “body.” Use gel icing to pipe black antennae. Use dab of white icing to stick sprinkles to wings.

Spring is in the air, and so are butterfly cupcakes. There are probably as many ways to make butterfly cupcakes as their are butterflies, but this is one of the easiest.
What You Need: Cupcake; icing tinted lavender (or color of your choice); 4 springtime candy corn (sold around Easter and in candy shops); 4 pastel M&Ms of the same color.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Line up 4 M&Ms in the center of the cupcake. Add candy corn, points outward, for wings.

Kids would have a lot of fun adding the sprinkles to these butterfly cupcakes.

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); white or off-white frosting; green paste or liquid food coloring; vanilla cookie (such as Nilla Wafers); colored sprinkles; black licorice whip.
Make That Cupcake!: Reserve some white icing and tint the rest green. Frost cupcake green. Carefully break cookie in half. Spread white icing in a semi-circle on the cookie, but leave some cookie showing. Sprinkle with sprinkles. Place halves together on cupcake with rounded ends touching. Add short lengths of black licorice for antennae.

The secret to these cute cupcakes are those little candy dots that come on a strip of paper. (Necco Candy Buttons) You could make a whole bunch with various colors of butterflies.

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); white frosting; candy dots; mini sugar-coated fruit slices; black licorice laces.
Make That Cupcake! Frost cupcake. Place two fruit slices with round sides together and a small space between them. Cut two small lengths of licorice laces and place in middle for antennae. Peel candy dots off paper and place randomly all over cupcake.